Sunglasses are ubiquitous in modern society. Their use as a fashion accessory and their effectiveness at providing shade for the eyes in situations of excessively bright lighting lend a wide appeal to such products. Modern accoutrements such as ultraviolet radiation (UV) protective features and polarized lenses have only served to increase popularity.
A presiding problem with glasses in general and sunglasses in particular is their relatively fragile nature. The thin frames are prone to bending or breaking when placed in unnatural or stressful positions. This makes the storage of such items difficult, especially while out of the house. Sunglasses in particular are often removed and replaced repeatedly over the course of a day as lighting conditions change with the weather, moving indoors and outdoors, etc. For many persons, carrying a suitable protective case for the glasses is annoying at best, but simpler remedies such as placing the glasses on one's head or in a pocket often lead to accidently dropping, crushing, or bending the frames or simply losing the glasses.
Various attempts have been made to provide hats with capabilities for securely retaining sunglasses or providing eye shading capabilities. Examples of these attempts can be seen by reference to several U.S. patents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,420, issued in the name of Chang, describes an apparatus for affixing sunshades to a baseball-style cap. The Chang apparatus includes a pair of shaded lenses with integral clips and hinges which secure to the brim of the hat.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,396, issued in the name of Vibert, describes a ball cap with attached sunglasses. The Vibert apparatus includes a baseball-style cap with integrally attached rotating sunglasses.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,647,554, issued in the name of Yan, describes a cap with a versatile sunglasses retainer. The Yan apparatus includes a securing means integrally located on the outside of a baseball-style cap which allows a user to securely place a pair of sunglasses on top of the cap during periods of disuse in a conventional manner.
While these apparatuses fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffer from one (1) or more of the aforementioned disadvantages. Many such apparatuses do not allow a user to utilize the apparatus with existing baseball caps. Also, many such apparatuses do not provide a full range of pivotal motion for sunglasses. Additionally, many such apparatuses do not provide the user with the option of utilizing the sunglasses in a standard manner without the use of a baseball cap. Furthermore, many such apparatuses are not adaptable to forms of headwear other than baseball caps. Accordingly, there exists a need for a hat-mounted sunglass system without the disadvantages as described above. The development of the present invention substantially departs from the conventional solutions and in doing so fulfills this need.